Darrell Egan

From Macau to Catani: Aussie rules footy kicks off in China

When footy fan Darrell Egan arrived in Macau to teach English back in 2010, little did he know that in a few short years that he would have created the first competitive Australian rules football team in China.

Darrell and his Macau born wife Fatima had worked extensively in the Macau education system and cross cultural exchange between China and Australia, establishing the House of Australia Macau association in 2011. The association became a launch pad for a footy program to be set up in a middle school in Dongguan China.

Middle school students in China are typically 12 to 16 years old, and are still at a flexible age where they can enjoy extra-curricular activities before becoming consumed heavily in their studies. Many Chinese students dabble in playing basketball, soccer and table tennis. However there is no one central team ball sport in China, as per gridiron in the US or soccer in Europe.

Darrell seized the opportunity to introduce a group of middle school students to the great Australian game, establishing the Dongguan Panther Blues football team in March 2012. With the help of his star recruit Leighton Lin (who has since become the team’s captain coach), Darrell made the six hour round trip from Macau to Dongguan to train the school team three days a week and set up an English program.

When Darrell returned to Australia in 2013, Leighton became the school’s assistant sports teacher, continuing his role as the team coach. Meanwhile a handful of other local Aussie rules teams sprang up in the Guangzhou area so the school team was able to play against them.

The Chinese enjoyed the physical contact aspects of the game and the fact that it requires large teams. They enjoy the social aspects of the game and carry the identity of being a footballer into all aspects of their studies, art and life.

This burgeoning Chinese Australian football culture has a highly inclusive atmosphere. The formation of the club's female team was greeted with great and enthusiasm and acceptance by the male players. Everyone has a go, no matter what their ability. Female players enjoy playing the sport without prejudice and the popularity of the sport amongst girls has warranted a female Dongguan Panther Blues Team.

In August 2014 Leighton Lin came to Australia to play in the Australian Football League International Cup. He launched a sister club program between Dongguan Panther Blues and South Gippsland’s Catani Football Club via the House of Australia Macau association.

Darrell and Leighton are now hoping to find sponsors that will enable them to establish a more formalised middle school Aussie rules football competition in China. There is a bit of work to do in appropriating the sport to Macau’s relatively humid conditions and lack of sporting ovals (they currently play on the greens of athletics tracks), but Darrell sees big potential for football in China, if the game can develop an audience via sports coverage on cable TV.

However Darrell believes that the secret to making the game work in China, rests in infiltrating the game at a grass roots level. Rather than flying a bunch of AFL stars to China to essentially `show off then fly home’, which happens with so many failed cross cultural initiatives, Darrell has been working hard to build a relationship of genuine collaboration and participation. He hopes that the sister club program with Catani will facilitate a variety of cross cultural educational, agricultural and sports exchange programs that will benefit both countries on a multitude of levels.